Colombian FARC Member Extradited from Costa Rica

Héctor Orlando Martínez, a leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) arrested here in August, was extradited Dec. 21 to Colombia, according to a statement from the Public Security Ministry.

Martínez is accused of participating in a massacre in Bojayá, Colombia, in which insurgents fired on a church and killed more than 100 people. He is also believed to be part of the “Frente 58” FARC group responsible for moving drugs and arms through Central America.

Martínez was arrested last August in the Pacific port town of Puntarenas, where he had been living since 2001 after he married a Tica and quickly obtained Costa Rican residency (TT, Aug. 18, 2006).

He was extradited for “national security measures and to give absolute respect to human rights,” said Public Security Minister Fernando Berrocal.